Rip vin p01653

[Gizmotoy]

Sorry to hear, but glad you're OK. Best of luck with the insurance companies and county. Certainly that initial insurance estimate could have been taken as a joke it's so low. Certainly you can scope out other sales, but the insurance company won't pay them much attention. One option is independent appraisal from a certified appraiser, which gives you actual defensible ammunition against the insurance company. They're often used for diminished value claims, but could be useful here as well.

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Try to stay calm, but firm when dealing with your adjuster and anyone else from the insurance company. The more evidence about the value of comparable vehicles that you can gather and present is going to help you justify a higher value for your car. $62K for an S85 with 31K miles does seem quite low, but you need to do the research and present what you find to the insurance company to bolster your claim. Good luck!

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I assume this agreed value changes over time? I can't imagine they would pay the $106k after the car is a year old, right?

The agreed value is good for the first year. When the policy renews, we renegotiate the agreed value at that time. The fact that I was able to obtain an agreed value for the next year of $106k based upon the car already being almost a year old, the hope is that if the car were a total loss then I would recover more than ACV (actual cash value) for the car and an amount guaranteed to cover my loan amount.

 

[pgiralt]

The agreed value doesn't change over time. In the event of a total loss in five years, I will receive the agreed value of $106,000. This is also known as "guaranteed value". Do not confuse this with Actual Cash Value or Stated Value, which will only pay the depreciated value.

Interesting... this sounds ripe for abuse. 5 years from now you crash your car into a wall to total it and get yourself a brand new car? Or does this mean that the cost of repair now needs to be over $106k before they will total it?

 

[Trnsl8r]

Interesting... this sounds ripe for abuse. 5 years from now you crash your car into a wall to total it and get yourself a brand new car? Or does this mean that the cost of repair now needs to be over $106k before they will total it?

Not unlikely that a brand new replacement from Tesla will cost more then $106k in five years...

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Interesting... this sounds ripe for abuse. 5 years from now you crash your car into a wall to total it and get yourself a brand new car? Or does this mean that the cost of repair now needs to be over $106k before they will total it?

Let me amend my previous statement, which was factually incorrect and I apologize. I didn't have the actual policy language in front of me, but I have since looked it up and asked for a clarification. The initial agreed value, in this case $106k, is good for one year. When the policy is renewed in a year, we will negotiate a new agreed value at that time. The thought process behind this type of coverage is that if the car were declared a total loss, the agreed value payout would be significantly higher than the actual cash value of the car at the time.

My hope is that I never need to use this type of coverage.

 

[Todd Burch]

AmpedRealtor, what are your premiums like for that type of coverage?

 

[Gizmotoy]

Let me amend my previous statement, which was factually incorrect and I apologize. I didn't have the actual policy language in front of me, but I have since looked it up and asked for a clarification. The initial agreed value, in this case $106k, is good for one year. When the policy is renewed in a year, we will negotiate a new agreed value at that time. The thought process behind this type of coverage is that if the car were declared a total loss, the agreed value payout would be significantly higher than the actual cash value of the car at the time.

My hope is that I never need to use this type of coverage.

I see. That's really interesting. So presumably you track the agreed value, roughly, to the car's depreciated value + some amount that gets you to where you'd need to be to get another one? Or do you continue to settle on a dollar amount near the original sticker price?

Another poster earlier in the thread had a good point: I wonder how this affect's the company's desire to total a car? If they know the agreed value is $100k and it needs $80k of repairs, will they repair it rather than totaling it out like would happen under traditional insurance?

 

[pgiralt]

Let me amend my previous statement, which was factually incorrect and I apologize. I didn't have the actual policy language in front of me, but I have since looked it up and asked for a clarification. The initial agreed value, in this case $106k, is good for one year. When the policy is renewed in a year, we will negotiate a new agreed value at that time. The thought process behind this type of coverage is that if the car were declared a total loss, the agreed value payout would be significantly higher than the actual cash value of the car at the time.

My hope is that I never need to use this type of coverage.

Ahh - ok - that makes sense. Seems like good protection. How much more are premiums over a "normal" policy to get this?

 

[swaltner]

Agreed value policies are great. I have my Ariel Atom on such a policy. I purchased it used, so it already went through the bulk of its depreciation. It has basically maintained it's value since I purchased a few years ago, so I've just left the agreed value at the original purchase price. I check eBay auctions at times to confirm the value. They know what the vehicle is worth, and would complain if I tried to insure it for too much.

 

[wk057]

Sorry to hear about this.

Now um... not to seem insensitive, but... any idea whats going to happen with the car now? I'd love to get my hands on some parts if they end up being available.

 

[Todd Burch]

Sorry to hear about this.

Now um... not to seem insensitive, but... any idea whats going to happen with the car now? I'd love to get my hands on some parts if they end up being available.

My guess is the insurance company will scrap it for parts. No idea how they do that.

On the (bright?) side here's a continuation of my saga:

I called Tesla to find an inventory car similar to my preferences. They only had two in the system, neither of which worked. Slim pickings on Ebay as well, so...the guy at the Tesla store suggested I just put in an order for a new one.

So, this morning I did just that. Here's my new config:

Black P85
Alcantara Headliner
Alcantara Dashboard Trim
Pano Roof
Coil Suspension
Black Nappa Leather Seats
Carbon Fiber Decor
Carbon Fiber Spoiler
Parking Sensors
Premium Lighting
Tech Package
Red Brake Calipers
Sound Upgrade
Standard 19" Wheels.

I think I will remove the 19s at delivery, sell them, and replace them with aftermarket black 20" wheels. If anyone will be in the market for a new pair of 19" tires with wheels around October, let me know .

So, for those interested in the differences from my last car, here are my changes and the "whys":

S85 --> P85
I was getting used to the S85 acceleration. I wanted more!

Air Suspension --> Coil Suspension
Here I decided to save a little money. I don't really use the adjustable height or care about the leveling. Sure, the lowering for improved aerodynamics is nice but the decreased drag appears to be fairly minimal. I hear the coils have a little better feedback from the road. I wanted to save some money and reduce potential future maintenance costs, so went with the coil this time. The car won't look as "lowered", but I think I can get over this aspect.

Piano Black --> Carbon Fiber
I have no issues with the Piano Black, I actually liked it quite a bit. But I always wanted Carbon Fiber, and couldn't get it on my S85. The Piano Black did show some very minor microscratches, but they were barely noticeable and only in bright sunlight. If I couldn't get the carbon fiber, I'd get the Piano Black again.

Standard Headliner --> Alcantara
My S85 didn't offer alcantara. I think I will really like it, and look forward to it being on the dash top as well. I had some issues with bright reflections off the pleather on the top of the dash, so this will improve that aspect.

Fog Lights --> No Fog Lights
Fog lights were standard on my first car. I don't really need them and don't find the additional cost to be worth it.

No Parking Sensors --> Parking Sensors
Parking sensors weren't available when I got my first car. For $500, it's a cheap option so I went for it.

Delivery is October. Now I have 3 months to work with the insurance company on getting a reasonable offer (and going back to the pump!) before she arrives...

 

[Kondo]

From the ashes rise the Phoenix ..... as long as the insurance company gets its act together this will have a happy ending. Ordering a month ago would have been worse so all things considered, timing is pretty good Good luck with the new car. I was going to go with black but in Arizona and the dust, you wash them more than drive them. Deciding what to do is the hardest thing, good for you getting that out of the way. David

 

[texex91]

Looks like a nice build--congrats!

 

[Todd Burch]

From the ashes rise the Phoenix ..... as long as the insurance company gets its act together this will have a happy ending. Ordering a month ago would have been worse so all things considered, timing is pretty good Good luck with the new car. I was going to go with black but in Arizona and the dust, you wash them more than drive them. Deciding what to do is the hardest thing, good for you getting that out of the way. David

Having 31,000 Model S miles under my belt helped me decide which options were worth it. It also helped me with a decision on which car to get. No other car entered my mind .

 

[AbeFromin]

that's gonna be a sweet replacement! good call on the coil suspension.

if you are going to go from 19's to 20's anyway, why don't you just get the graphite grey 21's from Tesla? (black on black on black)

nothing looks better, and we're talking one inch here. i've just never liked aftermarket wheels on the Model S. always comes out looking cheap and like a used car.


p.s. - you think premium interior lighting is worth $1k? i certainly don't. good thing i didn't have to pay extra for it.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Super config, Todd. Coming from the "old" gray, did you consider the new, darker gray at all before going for black? You may get the best of both worlds with the dark gray...

 

[Todd Burch]

that's gonna be a sweet replacement! good call on the coil suspension.

if you are going to go from 19's to 20's anyway, why don't you just get the graphite grey 21's from Tesla? (black on black on black)

I have read far too many concerns regarding bent wheels and blowouts with the low profile 21s. I agree they look AWESOME on the black car, but don't want to deal with blowouts all the time. As I understand Tesla's wheels are cast instead of forged, making them weak. Perhaps Tesla has improved this?

p.s. - you think premium interior lighting is worth $1k? i certainly don't. good thing i didn't have to pay extra for it.

I've always thought the S's lighting was lacking...but I had a very early car so it's hard to tell what's changed on it. In any sense, I've heard it looks pretty cool at night.

- - - Updated - - -

Super config, Todd. Coming from the "old" gray, did you consider the new, darker gray at all before going for black? You may get the best of both worlds with the dark gray...

Hey GG, that's one of the things I considered. But without some REAL pictures of the new gray, I can't make that decision. Maybe Tesla can send me some in the next 2 weeks before I have to lock in my order.

 

[EdA]

Sorry to hear about the mishap.

I may take you up on the wheels/tires. I'm visiting in Norfolk now (sans MS) but there's a chance I may need
them for my wife's car which is coming next month...Perhaps I can swing down in the fall and grab the wheels/tires.

 

[omarsultan]

Sorry to hear about the accident but glad no one was hurt. A new P sounds like excellent therapy.